However, moving them from an online lead into a paying customer can be tricky, if you don’t know what you are doing.
Online marketing is a vital part of attracting and retaining customers, but if you’re not actively following up on your digital leads, then all the effort you put into your digital marketing will go to waste. You need to work to convert your leads into sales. With so much noise around your potential clients, it can be easy for you to lose your leads to competitors.
The speed in which you follow up with your lead is paramount to the sale. If you leave your lead waiting for too long then you risk losing them to your competitors. Research shows that the ideal time to follow up with your lead is within 90 minutes of them completing a form on your website. However, this may change depending on your business and you should test to see what works for you.
Don’t sell
I know that coming from a business perspective this may seem counterintuitive but trust me on this. When you follow up on an online lead there is a good chance they already know what your business offers. If you have a good website, you should have all your products and services listed, as well as their features.
So when you are following up on a qualified lead from online don’t just regurgitate what is written on your website. It will be of no value to the lead and they will most likely be uninterested.
The best way to follow up with your lead is to discuss the benefits of your product or service, how it can help your customer achieve their desired outcome. Using this tactic will be more likely to convert your lead into a sale.
Test the waters
There are usually two ways to get online leads; through a contact us form on your website or social media platform, or through details the lead gives when they download a resource from your website.
If a lead fills in a contact me form then they are more likely to be ready to buy and will be easier to convert. However, if they have downloaded a resource and were forced to fill out their details to access the resource, they are probably not ready to buy, and coming on too strong with those leads can scare them off.
Before you call every single lead that has downloaded a resource from your website send them an email seeing if they want you to get in contact with them. If they don’t respond, they are not a qualified lead and you are better spending your time on other, qualified leads.
Converting online leads into sales takes time and patience. You can’t expect every single lead from your website to become a sale, you must build a relationship with them and understand where they are on their journey.
Annika Scott is an expert copywriter at Digital Presence. Visit
